What does "male" mean?
One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.; A human member of the masculine sex or gender.
Male
/meːl/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.; A human member of the masculine sex or gender.
- Grammar: male is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: adult male, andric, boar, buck.
- Useful contrasts: womanly, androgynous, demoiselle.
- Usage evidence: The crocodile, which produces only male young in hotter weather, might die out too because there will be no females to breed.
How to use "male"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "male" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "male" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "male" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "male" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "male" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adult male" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "male", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.; A human member of the masculine sex or gender.
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:male."
- 2 Alternative form of Maale. alt-of, alternative, plural, plural-only
- 3 an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova) wordnet
- 4 One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.; An animal of the sex that has testes.
- 5 a person who belongs to the sex that cannot have babies wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.; A plant of the masculine sex.
- 7 A bacterium which has the F factor.
"During mating, F+ male bacteria transfer the F factor to the recipient females, transforming them into F+ males. Males also retain a copy of their F factor for themselves (left). When Hfr (or high frequency recombination) males mate[…]"
- 8 A male connector, pipe fitting, etc.
"Work another rubber washer over the threads of the male adapter that is now sticking out of the bucket. […] cut out with an X-acto knife, then thread the female fittings to the males."
Adjective
- 1 Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it. not-comparable, usually
"male writers"
- 2 Characteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare masculine, manly.) not-comparable, usually
"stereotypically male interests"
- 3 Tending to lead to or regulate the development of sexual characteristics typical of this sex. not-comparable, usually
"the male chromosome"
- 4 Masculine; of the masculine grammatical gender. form-of, masculine, not-comparable, usually
"The teacher's voice inflects the pulse of nêhiyawêwin as he teaches us. He says a prayer in the first class. Nouns, we learn, have a gender. In French, nouns are male or female, but in Cree, nouns are living or non-living, animate or inanimate."
- 5 Having the F factor; able to impart DNA into another bacterium which does not have the F factor (a female). not-comparable, usually
"Furthermore, male bacteria with fi + R factors, which inhibit the function of F (fi fertility inhibition) (Watanabe et al., 1964a), cannot form specific cell pairs at high frequencies. On the contrary, the formation of[…]"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Of instruments, tools, or connectors: designed to fit into or penetrate a female counterpart, as in a connector, pipe fitting or laboratory glassware. figuratively, not-comparable, usually
"Male adapter connects female pipe threads to polyethylene cold-water pipe; [...] female flare coupling connects male pipe threads to flared copper or plastic;"
Adjective
- 1 being the sex (of plant or animal) that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that perform the fertilizing function in generation wordnet
- 2 for or pertaining to or composed of men or boys wordnet
- 3 characteristic of a man wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 Alternative form of Maale. alt-of, alternative
- 3 A Madang language of Papua New Guinea.
Antonyms
Example
"The crocodile, which produces only male young in hotter weather, might die out too because there will be no females to breed."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "male"?
Common synonyms include: adult male, andric, boar, buck, bull, carl.
How do you use "male" in a sentence?
The crocodile, which produces only male young in hotter weather, might die out too because there will be no females to breed.
How do you pronounce "male"?
Pronounced /meːl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Etymology tree Latin mās Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -ulus Latin -culus Latin masculus Vulgar Latin masclus Old French maslebor. Middle English male English male From Middle English male, borrowed from Old French malle, masle (Modern French mâle), from Latin masculus (“masculine, a male”), diminutive of mās (“male, masculine”). Doublet of macho. Displaced native Old English wǣpned (“male”, literally “weaponed”).
Etymology 2
* As a Welsh surname, from the personal name Mael, from Middle Welsh mael (“prince”). * As an English surname of Norman origin, contaminated from many Old French sources, such as mail (“hammer”), maille (“chainmail”), maille (“denier”), or esmal (“enamel”). Compare Mailer. * Also as an English surname, from Middle English male (“bag, pouch”). * Also as an English surname of Norman origin, from the source of male (“male, male adult”). * Also as an English surname, from Middle English mele (“meal, flour”) (compare Millman) or from Old Norse melr (“sandhill”). Compare Meil. * As a Slovene surname, from the adjective mal (“small, little”), from Proto-Slavic *malъ. Compare Mal, Mahle. * As a Norwegian surname, from a farm in Romsdal derived from Old Norse mǫl (“layer of pebbles”). Also Americanized from Mæle, Mæhle, itself related to the Norse word melr. Compare Mele.